Secret cabinet



Sept. 23 1924.

r 1,509,285 M. COLBOW. JR

SECRET CABINET Filed Dec. 21, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 23 1924.1,509,285

' Ml. COLBQW. JP.

SECRET CABINET Filed Dec. 21. 1923 3 Shepts-Sheet 5 Q l @[uucni'oo 8 M.C'oZ boar, Jr. 2, v

Patented Sept. 23, N24.

I MAX COLBOW, JR., OF CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO.

, SECRET CABINET.

Application filed. December 21, 1923. Serial No. 682,116.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, MAX ConBoW, Jr., a

citizen of the United States, residing at- Cleveland Heights, in thecounty of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Secret Cabinets, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to a secret safe or cabinet and has forits' object to provide a device of this character which em bodies novelfeatures of construction whereby it is normally concealed or camouflagedin an effective manner so that the location thereof will not besuspected or discovered by a person not familiar with the secret, andwhich is at the same time readily accessible to any person knowing thelocation of the compartment and the manner of'opening the same.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a secret compartment orsafe which is comparatively simple and inexpensive in its construction,which can be readily built into the wall of a building, whichcan beeasily opened at any time, but which isso efiectively concealed that.there is no likelihood that any person unfamiliar with the secret willever discover the location thereof.

With the above and other objects in view,

.more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel featuresthereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in whichsafe or cabinetwhich is constructed in accordance with the invention, the door orclosure thereof being shown as swung outwardly into an open position.

Figure2 1s a rear view of the exposed cabinet which forms the closurefor the hidden safe or cabinet.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the hidden position and by dotted linesin an open position.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the line 55 of Figure 4:,looking in the direction of the arrows, a portion of the back wall ofthe exposed cabinet being shown as broken away.

Figure 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectlonal view through oneof the sidewalls of the cabinet, showingthe Y electrically controlled latch memberwhich normally holds the closure of the hidden safe in a closedposition.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the spring plunger which causes an initialswinging movement ofthe closure as soon as the electrically controlledlatch member is released.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated on all of the views of the drawings by likereference characters.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate one of many possibleembodiments of the invention, the numeral 1 designates an opening formedin the face of a wall 2, said opening being shown as arrangedbetween twoof the studs 3 which form-the frame for the wall. The opening extendsinto the wall a suflicient depth'to provide space for two cabinets, theinnermost of which is hidden or concealed by the outer cabinet. Thewalls of the opening 2 are formed by horizontal cross pieces 4connecting the studs 3 and upright members 5 connecting the horizontalcross pieces a. A rear wall 6 is'applied to the back of the said frameand provides the back of the secret compartment.

The closure for the opening 1 comprises 1 an outer cabinet 7 which ismovable into and Figure 1 is a perspective View of a secret out ofposition, so that access can be had to the rear or hidden compartment atany time when such is desired. The outer cabinet 7 is provided with aframe 8 which extends around the front thereof and projects laterallyfrom the edges of the cabinet, so that it will fit snugly against theface of the wall 2, and effectively conceals the opening 1 when withinthe opening.

One side of the outer cabinet is connected by a hinge strip 9 to one ofthe sides of the opening 1. The hinge strip 9 has awidth whichcorresponds substantially with the depth of the outer cabinet and oneedge of the strip is hinged at 10 to the back of the outer cabinet,while the other edge thereof the outer cabinet is swung into positionchanging or shifting.

is hinged at 11 to an edge of the opening 1. This peculiar mounting ofthe outer cabinet 7 enables it to be readily swung into either.

an open or a closed position, as will be readily apparent by referenceto Figure 4, in which figure the closed position is indicated by fulllines and the open position by dotted lines. The outer cabinet 7 may beprovided I with the usual shelves 12 and with a door 13 of: theconventional character. Likewise the inner and secret compartment may beprovided with suitable shelves 1 1.

hen the outer cabinet 7 is swung into. a closed position the overhangingframe 8 thereof fits. snugly against the wall 2 and effectively concealsthe opening 1. This frame 8; is similar in allrespects to the usualframe which. surrounds a wall cabinet, so that the: average observerwould quickly notice the exposed outer cabinet, although there is,nothing to indicate that the outer net which is located to. the rearthereof. It

is accordingly extremely improbable that any person not knowing thesecret of the location of the hidden safe or cabinet would ever discoverthe same, even though a careful search were made for the purpose oflocating the valuables or articles placed therein.

The use of the hinge strip: 9 in mounting the outer cabinet 7 isrendered necessary by reason of the fact that the frame 8 of the outercabinet overhangs or projects laterally from'the edges of the cabinet,so that the pivot center upon which the cabinet swings when it is beingopened is almost constantly Upon the initial opening movement of theouter cabinet the fulcrum point is the edge or corner of the frame 8.and the swinging edge of the cabinet must accordingly have a clearancespace such as that which is indicated at 15 on Figures 4 and 6 of thedrawings. This clearance space is provided by cutting away or flaringone of the side walls of the frame for the wall compartment. Thecorresponding upright member 5 of the inner frame has the forward edgethereof beveled or cut away, and an upright strip 161 is fitted againstthe inner face of the said upright member 5 at the back thereof, theforward edge of the strip 16 being tapered and cooperating with thebeveled edge of the upright member 5 to provide the clearance space 15.

This. clearance space 15 receives the inner corner of the swinging edgeof the outer cabinet 7 upon the initial opening movement of the cabinetand the final closing movement thereof when the outer cabinet is swunginto an open or a closed. position. Owing 'to the provision of theclearance space 15 the mouth of the opening 1 is considerably wider thanthe outer cabinet 7, although the frame 8 of the outer cabinet has asufficient overhang to extend beyond and completely seal the enlargedmouth of the opening 1 when the outer cabinet is in a closed position. i

The back of the outer cabinet is provided'at the swinging edge thereofwith a latch 17, which is adapted to be engaged by an electricallycontrolled keeper 18 when the outer cabinetis swung into aclosedposition, as indicated by Figures 45 and 6. When the latch 17 is engagedby the keeper 18,

' a filler strip 19 which is applied to the inner edge of the hingestrip9 engages the adjacent ja-mb or upright member 5 so that the outercabinet is. held as securely as possible against looscness or lateralmovement. Lateral movement of the outer cabinet when in a closedposition is also prevented by a pin or stud 20, which projectsdownwardly from the upper cross piece 4 of the inside frame and engagesa notch 21 in the top of the outer cabinet 7, said notch having a flaredmouth and contracted rear end, so

that when the cabinet is completely closed the stud will interlock withthe contracted rear end or base of the notch and tend to prevent anylateral loose-ness or play of the outer cabinet.

The electrically operated detent or keeper 18 for the latch 17 isadapted to be controlled by a switch 22 which'can be located theelectrically operated keeper, a conventional transformer 23 may beprovided for stepping down the voltage in the required manner. When theswitch 22 is manipulated the keeper 18 is disengaged from the latch 17,whereupon the outer cabinet 7 is moved outwardly a slight amount bymeans of a spring plunger 24 which is arranged adjacentan edge of theopening 1 in such a manner as to normally engage the frame 8. Thismovement of the outer cabinet is sufficient to carry the latch 17 awayfrom the keeper l8, and the operator can then readily grasp the frame 8with his fingers and swing the outer cabinet into an open position, sothat access can be obtained to the inner and secret safe or cabinet.When the outer cabinet 7' is swung backinto its original position thelatch 17 will be automatically engaged by the keeper 18, and the rearsafe 'or cabinet will then be eli'ectively concealed and hidden so thatany valuables or personal papers placed therein will be entirely safe.If desired, the portion of the j amb of the inner frame which is engagedby the latch 17 upon the closing of the outer cabinet may be faced withsheet metal, as indicated at 25, thereby preventing the possibility thatthe sharp edge of the latch will dig into and injure the wood.

When the outer cabinet is swung into a closed position the rear cabinetor safe is effectively hidden and concealed, although the outer cabinetis mounted in the wall so that it can be used in the same manner as theconventional wall cabinet.

Having thus described myv invention what I claim as new and desire tosecureby Letters Patent of the United States is,

1. A device of the character described including a wall formed with arecess providing an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the re cess, and a latterly projectingframe carried by the outer cabinet and arranged to fit against the walland conceal the recess when the outer cabinet is in a closed position.

2..A device of the character described, including a wall formed with arecess providing an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess and conceal the inner cab-inet,a lock carried by the outer cabinet and inaccessible from the front orinterior thereof, said lock serving to hold the outer cabinet inoperative position within the mouth of the recess, and distantly locatedmeans i for controlling the said lock.

3. A device of the character described, including a wall formed with arecess providing an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess, the said mouth of the recessbeing larger than the outer cab-inet, late-rally projecting framemembers carried by the outer cabinet and arranged to fit against thewall and conceal the mouth of the recess when the outer cabinet is in aclosed position, and means for holding the outer cabinet against lateralplay within the mouth of the recess.

4:. A device of the character described, including a wall formed with arecess providing an inner cabinet, an outer cabinet adapted to fitwithin the mouth of the recess, a hinge strip extending along one sideof the outer cabinet and having one edge thereof hinged to an inner edgeof the outer cabinet while the other edge thereof is hinged to a side ofthe recess, the mouth of a the recess being flared to permiltl of theouter cabinet being swung into an-open and closed position, and meanscarried by the outer cabinet for covering and concealing the flaredmouth of the recess.

5. A device of the character described, including a wall formed with arecess providing an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess, and a stud projecting into themouth of the recess, the outer cabinet being formed with a notch whichis adapted to receive the stud and cooperate therewith to position theouter cabinet and hold it against lateral movement.

6. A device of the character described, including a wall provided with arecess which forms an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess and conceal the inner cabinet,an electrically controlled invisible member inaccessibly located .uponthe inner cabinet for holding the outer cabinet in a closed position,and a distantly located electric switch controlling the circuit of thesaid member.

7. A device of the character described, including a wall provided with arecess which forms an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess and conceal the inner cabinet,an inaccessibly located latch for locking the outer cabinet in a closedposition within. the mouth of the recess, distantly located means forcontrolling the latch, and means for automatically shifting the cuttercabinet toward an open position when the latch is released.

8. A device of the character described, including a vwall provided witha recess which forms an inner cabinet, a movably mounted outer cabinetadapted to close the mouth of the recess and conceal the inner cabinet,an inaccessible latch for holding the outer cabinet in position withinthe mouth of the recess, electrical means for actuating the latch from adistance, andspring means for automatically shifting the outer cabinetoutwardly toward an open position when the latch is released.

9. A device of the character described, including a wall formed with arecess which provides an inner cabinet, an outer cabinet hingedlymounted within the mouth of the recess and adapted to conceal the innercabinet when in a closed position, the mouth of the recess being flaredto permit of the swinging of the outer cabinet into open and closedpositions, laterally projecting frame members carried by the outercabinet and arranged to fit against the wall and conceal the flaredmouth of the recess, means for holding the outer cabinet against lateralplay within the flared mouth of the recess, an inaccessible latch forholding the outer cabinet in a closed position, and distantly locatedmeans for controlling the said latch.

, In testimony whereof, I afliX my signature.

MAX COLBOW, JR.

